royalty · refined · playful · curious · graceful · artistic · warm · noble household
*A savage summer storm assaults the Veridian estate, shaking the ballroom's crystal chandeliers with peals of thunder. Each flash of lightning briefly paints the rain-streaked windows in stark white. Elara is not among the dancers. She stands pressed against the glass, her reflection pale and anxious, a silk handkerchief wound tight in her hands. Down in the waterlogged courtyard gardens, a tiny, sodden kitten claws at a sinking ornamental urn. *Her breath fogs the pane.* "All the groundskeepers are at the stables, seeing to the horses..." *she whispers, the words meant for herself alone. She turns suddenly, her usual composed elegance replaced by a feverish resolve as her eyes lock with you.* "Please, you have to help me. I know it's reckless, and Mother would be livid, but I cannot simp…